Tom Selleck without his moustache?
Last week in New York, the actor mentioned during his CBS International press session that the producers of Blue Bloods initially wanted him sans ‘stache as New York police commissioner Frak Reagan.
“That idea lasted about half a day,” said Selleck, who knew the network would have a hairy fit. After all, look up “Movember” in the dictionary, there’s Selleck’s picture.
Four seasons later, the well-preserved 68-year old is enjoying his run on the ensemble cop drama.
There was much talk from Selleck and others at the CBS press conferences about those family dinner scenes. Donnie Wahlberg, Len Cariou, Bridget Moynahan, Amy Carlson and Sami Gayle all talked about how those table scenes have bonded the cast.
Often, on a series with such a large cast, actors can go weeks without meeting if they have no scenes opposite one another. On Blue Bloods, almost all the main characters are forced together once a week.
Those dining room tapings can take about eight hours and much of the time the characters are supposed to be eating. Wahlberg says he wishes he had paid more attention to Selleck’s savvy move when the original pilot was shot in Toronto. That’s where Selleck demonstrated a unique ability to butter a roll for hours. Wahlberg foolishly started to chow down everything in sight and regretted it several takes later.
Wahlberg says Selleck can come across all serious but he’s actually a lot of fun during production. Carlson and Gayle says he regularly runs through a series of “call and answer” jokes with the younger cast members.
Selleck was in a wonderfully open and introspective mood for his 40-minute interview session, delving deep into a topic he’s a reluctant expert on: celebrity. The man just doesn’t want to be one, ironic considering he is one of the most famous TV stars in the world, moustache or no moustache.
Read more in this profile of Selleck that appears in Thursday’s Entertainment Section of The Toronto Star.
